Question re: Platium Plugs

Good question. A Google search brought up much lower prices, like $3.45 each for genuine NGK PZFR5F-11 plugs at

Mike

wel,been through this a couple of months ago.The plugs on that site that are

3.45 each are not platinum.They lack the letter "p"in fron of the number.That "p"stands for platinum, With that said,they are reccommended for that car,but not being platinum means you have to change them more often. I put non platinum in my 2001 ex-v6,and find no difference...they just wont last as long,but 100,000 kms shouldn't be a problem. check this site out

Check out

or

NGK Iridium plugs are an extremelly high quality plug which is good for

100,000 miles in most applications and sell online for $7-$8 each.

Platinum plugs from several brands are $2.50-$5.00 each.

Honda and your dealer are enjoying very fat profits on their parts.

John

Ooh... I didn't notice that!

Mike

The odd thing was that I googled on the full number and still got a hit. The hit was from references to the platinums farther down... but the original platinums weren't listed for sale.

An object lesson in caveat emptor, for sure. Now about this Rulex watch I bought on the internet....

Mike

I agree that the regular plugs work as well as platinum plugs. I found the following info. at the NGK website--it's the reason I wanted to buy platinum plugs:

"Platinum spark plugs last much longer than conventional spark plugs and perform more consistently over the course of their service life."

One poster said that the gaps of regular spark plugs change as the tips (aka electrodes) of the spark plugs slowly gets shorter. He said that the electrodes of the platinum plugs remain about the same for over a year. I believe that he is correct. I took the a close look at the plugs that were removed from my vehicle. Some of the gaps were no longer correct. The gap was only correct in one of the four plugs. When the plugs were installed--all of the gaps were correct (and the same). Hopefully, when I remove the platinum plugs in two years--all of the gaps will still be perfect.

Should check your plugs every 6 months anyway. My old metro, i used to pull the plugs, and swap with a spare set i hadIn the intervening months, i'd clean the plugs cmeically, Always had a nice clean, well-gapped set in my engine.(Then again, custom engine, the entirely custom-made suspension for it (active hydraulic, like the citroen activ system) meant this was just the standard thing i did back then.

Oddly, I tried platinum plugs in our '85 turbo Volvo against the advice of the gurus. Next year I took them out during the tune-up and found each had no electrode left at all, only a pinhole in the insulator where the electrode was! I can't imagine why the engine was any different from others, but I have used the same brand (Bosch) platinums in other engines with great results. Huh.

Mike

Hello, Tegger informed us in one of his posts that with platinum plugs--you should NOT adjust the gap. He stated that the reason: When you adjust the gap--you can easily remove the platinum coating on the electrodes. He said that once the coating is removed--the electrodes quickly rust away. I am restating what he wrote and if he reads my post, he can explain it much better than I explained it. I suspect that your mechanic or yourself adjusted the gap and that's why the electrodes rusted away. He also stated that Bosch makes terrible platinum plugs and that also could be the problem. I prefer the NGK plugs.

Good guess, but missed this time. I was already familiar with platinums and just stuck them in the car, even though I didn't know why it is done that way until just now. But at least I learned why the gurus recommended not to use them, even if I don't know the actual cause. (Thanks for explaining why the gaps are never tinkered with!)

Mike

Bosch Platinum plugs have very small center electrodes which are easily damaged. I don't much like Bosch Platinums for that very reason. The Autolite, AC and NGK Platinum plugs I have tried have all been very reliable for me.

John